Friday, November 16, 2012

A Disturbing Week in College Football

Take Kansas State. Did you know Colin Klein didn’t kiss his
wife until they were married? Also he plays the Mandolin. Still your Heisman
front-runner?

Or USC and UCLA urging sportsmanship? Is this a rivalry or a
friendly croquet competition? (Sidebar: I proudly own a croquet set and enjoy a
good match.)

Or Wisconsin…where the Badgers will face the top two teams
in the ironically named Leaders Division, but the outcomes don’t matter! Lose
both and a 7-5 Badgers team will still be in Indianapolis for the title! Stop
the madness.

Last week:

Straight up: 3-2

ATS: 2-2-1

Its rough out there, I tells ya.

GAME OF THE WEEK:

Utah State (8-2, 4-0)
at Louisiana Tech (9-1, 4-0) 3 p.m. ESPN 3.

This is what happens when no one pays attention to the Game
of the Week email.

Winner is likely the WAC champion.Louisiana Tech plays fast- 87 plays per game fast. They
average an insane 53 points per game. They are first in the nation in offense
at 576 ypg. They also give up 36 ppg. It’s the closest thing we have to
basketball on grass.

Utah State is no slouch at 35 ppg. They are fairly balanced.

The Line: Utah
State by 3.5 points. Hmm.

The Pick: I’ll go
the other way. LaTech 41 UtSt. 38.

Wake Forest (5-5, 3-5)
at #3 Notre Dame (10-0) 2:30 p.m. NBC

I’ll tell you what’s waking up the echos…an undefeated Notre
Dame not playing for the national championship. The Gipper, the Four Horsemen,
Rudy, they’re coming for the BCS…all of ‘em.

With a victory, Notre Dame goes undefeated at home for the first time since
1998. It’s been anything but easy for the Irish though. Notre Dame has gone to
overtime twice at home, including against Pitt.

It was 24-17 Notre Dame a year ago in North Carolina. The
Demon Deacons, while not being a real thing, also need to win both games for
bowl eligibility. I wouldn’t buy that plane ticket just yet, as WF is 113th
in total offense.

The Line: A
24-point spread for the Golden Domers says Vegas believes.

The Pick: Irish
win, but not by 24.ND 24 WF 10.

#13 Stanford (8-2, 6-1) at #2 Oregon (10-0, 7-0) 7
p.m. ABC

For first place in the PAC-12 North and for Oregon a chance
to keep their national championship hopes alive.

Stanford beat Oregon State last week 27-23.Stanford has a very good defense and a
respectable offense. That won’t be enough in Autzen Stadium.

Oregon is an unreal 32-2 in conference games under Chip
Kelly. The nation’s top scoring offense is in high gear with a 59-17 victory
over CAL.

Only hiccup might be the 70% chance of rain.

The Line: Oregon
by 20.5

The Pick: Lets go
Oregon 41 Stanford 20.

#1 Kansas State
(10-0, 7-0) at Baylor (4-5, 1-5) 7 p.m. ESPN

Finishing our look at the unbeaten teams.

Colin Klein will beat you with his arms and his legs. He
really won’t need to though because Baylor doesn’t play defense. I’m not even
sure they have a defensive coordinator. If they do, he should be fired.

This should be a shootout if K-State cannot stop Baylor.
Baylor has the 2nd ranked offense and 7th scoring offense
in the nation.

Playoff football. That’s the way to go. NCAA Division II
first round game in the‘Ville.
Bearcats will have to pick themselves up after losing the MIAA to Western.
Shouldn’t be a problem, win and you get another chance at the Griffons.

Harding runs a triple option offense that rarely throws and
even more rarely completes the pass. They play in the Great American Conference
which some say (code: me) is suspect competition.

The Bearcats are led by a good defense and boast a versatile
offense with Trevor Adams. RB Jordan Simmons is out with a broken arm, which
should slow the Bearcats some.

Bearcats have seen triple option before and unless Harding
is a lot quicker than I think they are, Cats can handle it.

The Line: No line, but I’d guessNorthwest by 3 because of home field
advantage.